Tirupati Balaji Laddu is one of the most famous and beloved temple prasadam in India. Known for its unique flavour, beautiful golden brown colour, and rich aroma of ghee, cardamom, cloves, and edible camphor, this special laddu is truly irresistible.
Today, we are going to prepare these delicious Tirupati Balaji style laddus at home, especially for festive occasions like Diwali. These laddus are made using crispy boondi, sugar syrup, roasted cashews, raisins, and a special aromatic spice mixture that gives them their traditional temple style flavour.
The best part is that you can prepare these delicious laddus in your own kitchen with simple ingredients. Follow this step by step recipe to make rich, flavourful, and perfectly shaped boondi laddus at home.
Authentic Temple Style Flavour: The combination of ghee, cardamom, cloves, and edible camphor gives these laddus a special traditional prasadam flavour.
Rich and Delicious: Crispy boondi, roasted cashews, juicy raisins, and aromatic sugar syrup make every bite delicious.
Perfect Festive Sweet: These laddus are perfect for Diwali, pooja, festivals, and family celebrations.
Easy to Make at Home: With simple ingredients and step-by-step instructions, you can prepare these special laddus in your own kitchen.
Beautiful Golden Brown Colour: The perfectly fried boondi gives the laddus their attractive traditional appearance.
A Special Homemade Treat: Enjoy the taste of temple-style prasadam and share this delicious sweet with your loved ones.
For making boondi
- 2 cups gram flour (besan)
- ½ cup milk (boiled and cooled)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp ghee
- ⅛ tsp cooking soda
For sugar syrup
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup water
For flavouring and garnish
- 3 tbsp cashews and raisins
- 5 cardamom pods
- 2 cloves
- 1 tsp sugar
- A very small piece of edible camphor (Pacha Kapoor)
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tbsp diamond sugar (kalkandu or sugar crystals)
- 1 tbsp ghee (for the final mixture)
Step 1 - Prepare the boondi batter
- Firstly, take 2 cups of gram flour (besan) in a large mixing bowl. You can use slightly coarse besan for a better texture, or regular besan if that is what you have available.
- Add ½ cup of boiled and cooled milk and mix well. Keep mixing until there are no lumps in the batter. Sifting the besan beforehand will make mixing easier.
- Now add ¼ cup of water, 1 teaspoon of ghee, and ⅛ teaspoon of cooking soda. Mix everything thoroughly until you get a smooth, lump-free batter
- The batter should have a flowing consistency, suitable for making small, round boondi. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Step 2 - Prepare the boondi
- After 10 minutes, mix the batter once again.
- Heat ghee in a kadai over medium heat. Place a boondi making ladle or perforated boondi jhara over the hot ghee.
- Pour a little batter onto the boondi ladle and gently spread it so that small drops of batter fall into the hot ghee.
- Fry the boondi over medium heat until it turns slightly golden brown and becomes crispy.
- The boondi used for Tirupati style laddus has a beautiful golden brown colour, so make sure not to under fry it.
- Once done, remove the boondi and drain the excess ghee.
- Repeat the same process with the remaining batter until all the boondi is prepared.
Tip: If your boondi is not turning round and fluffy, you can add a tiny pinch of cooking soda to the batter and mix well.
Step 3 - Fry the cashews and raisins
- Heat a little ghee in a small pan.
- Add the cashews and fry until they turn golden brown. Next, add the raisins and fry until they puff up.
- Be careful not to over fry the raisins, as they can burn quickly. Remove them from the pan and keep aside.
Step 4 - Prepare the special aromatic spice powder
- One of the secrets behind the unique flavour of Tirupati Balaji Laddu is its mild edible camphor aroma.
- Take 1 teaspoon of sugar in a small mixer jar. Add 4–5 cardamom pods, 2 cloves, and a very tiny piece of edible camphor (Pacha Kapoor).
- Grind everything into a fine powder.
- Make sure to use only food grade edible camphor, not regular camphor used for puja or burning. This special powder gives the laddus their distinctive traditional aroma.
Step 5 - Grind a portion of the boondi
- Take approximately 1 cup of the prepared boondi and transfer it to a mixer jar.
- Grind it coarsely. Do not make it into a fine powder; a slightly coarse texture is perfect.
- Keep this ground boondi aside. Adding it to the sugar syrup helps bind the laddus and gives them a lovely texture.
Step 6 - Prepare the sugar syrup
- Now take a kadai and add 2 cups of sugar along with ½ cup of water.
- Place it over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Continue cooking the syrup until it reaches a one string consistency.
- To check, take a little syrup between your thumb and forefinger (allow it to cool slightly first). When you gently separate your fingers, a single thread should form.
- Once the sugar syrup reaches this stage, it is ready.
Step 7- Combine the boondi and sugar syrup
- Now add all the prepared boondi to the hot sugar syrup.
- Add the coarsely ground boondi as well.
- Next, add the prepared cardamom, clove, and edible camphor powder.
- Add 1 tablespoon of diamond sugar, ¼ teaspoon of cardamom powder, and the fried cashews and raisins.
- Mix everything gently until the boondi is evenly coated with the sugar syrup.
- Cook this mixture for another 3–4 minutes, stirring continuously so that everything combines well.
- Switch off the flame and allow the mixture to rest in the sugar syrup for approximately 15 minutes.
- Finally, add 1 tablespoon of ghee and mix well.
Step 8 - Shape the laddus
- Allow the mixture to cool slightly until it is warm enough to handle.
- Do not wait until it cools completely, as the sugar syrup will start to harden and the mixture will become difficult to shape.
- Grease your palms lightly with ghee. Take a generous portion of the warm boondi mixture and press it firmly between your palms to form large, round laddus. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
- Allow the laddus to cool completely and set.
- Our delicious homemade Tirupati Balaji style laddus are now ready to serve!
- Enjoy these rich and aromatic laddus with your family and share the divine festive sweetness with everyone!
- Use the right besan: Slightly coarse gram flour gives a lovely texture to the boondi. Regular besan also works well.
- Make a smooth batter: Ensure there are no lumps in the batter so that the boondi forms evenly.
- Maintain the oil temperature: Fry the boondi over medium heat. If the ghee is too hot, the boondi may brown too quickly.
- Do not over fry the raisins: Fry them only until they puff up.
- Use edible camphor carefully: A very tiny quantity of food grade edible camphor is enough to give the traditional aroma.
- Check the sugar syrup consistency: One string consistency helps the boondi mixture bind properly.
- Grind some boondi: Adding coarsely ground boondi helps absorb the syrup and makes shaping easier.
- Shape while warm: Always shape the laddus while the mixture is still warm. Once it cools completely, it will become difficult to bind.
Tirupati Style Boondi Laddu | तिरुपति बालाजी मंदिर के प्रसाद जैसे लड्डू
Ingredients
For Boondi
- 2 cups gram flour besan
- ½ cup boiled and cooled milk
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp ghee
- ⅛ tsp cooking soda
- Ghee for frying
For Sugar Syrup
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup water
For Flavouring
- 3 tbsp cashews and raisins
- 5 cardamom pods
- 2 cloves
- 1 tsp sugar
- A very tiny piece of edible camphor
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tbsp diamond sugar
- 1 tbsp ghee
Instructions
- Prepare the batter: Mix 2 cups besan and add boiled, cooled milk - 1 cup. Mix until smooth. Now Add water, 1 tsp ghee, and 1/8 tsp cooking soda. Mix into a lump free, flowing batter. Rest for 10 minutes.
- Make boondi: Heat ghee in a kadai. Pour the batter through a boondi ladle and fry over medium heat until golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain.
- Fry the nuts: Fry cashews in ghee until golden. Add raisins and fry until they puff up. Keep aside.
- Prepare spice powder: Grind sugar - 1 tsp, cardamom pods - 5, cloves - 2, and a tiny piece of food-grade edible camphor into a fine powder.
- Grind boondi: Take 1 cup of prepared boondi and grind it coarsely.
- Make sugar syrup: Combine 2 cups sugar and add water 1/2 cup in a kadai. Cook until the syrup reaches one-string consistency.
- Combine everything: Add the prepared boondi and ground boondi to the syrup. Add the spice powder, diamond sugar, - 1 tbsp, cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp, fried cashews, and raisins. Mix well and cook for 3–4 minutes.
- Rest the mixture: Switch off the flame and let the mixture rest in the syrup for 15 minutes. Add ghee and mix.
- Shape the laddus: While the mixture is still warm, grease your palms with ghee and shape into large round laddus. Allow them to cool and set.
Video
Notes
- Use only food grade edible camphor, in a very tiny quantity.
- Maintain medium heat while frying boondi.
- Do not over fry the raisins.
- Make sure the sugar syrup reaches one string consistency.
- Shape the laddus while the mixture is warm, as it hardens when cooled.
This may happen if the sugar syrup consistency is not correct or the mixture has cooled down too much. You can add a little warm sugar syrup and mix well before shaping the laddus.
The batter consistency and the temperature of the ghee are important. Make sure your batter is smooth and flowing. If required, add a tiny pinch of cooking soda.
Yes, you can prepare the boondi batter using water instead of milk. However, milk is used in this recipe to give the boondi a richer texture.
The combination of ghee, cardamom, cloves, edible camphor, roasted cashews, and raisins gives these laddus their distinctive aroma and taste.
Yes. If you cannot find food grade edible camphor, you can skip it. The laddus will still taste delicious, although the traditional camphor aroma will be missing.
If the sugar syrup is overcooked or the mixture is allowed to cool completely before shaping, it can become hard. Shape the laddus while the mixture is still warm
Store the completely cooled laddus in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Since this recipe contains milk in the batter, use good food hygiene and refrigerate for longer storage. Consume within a few days and check freshness before serving.
Yes. You can prepare the boondi ahead of time and store it in an airtight container. Prepare the sugar syrup and combine everything when you are ready to make the laddus.
